When your friends and relatives arrive for your party, dinner, or celebration, sometimes obvious waste becomes apparent. Perhaps it's double wrapping or other choices, but it's important to not get distracted by the innocent mistake of your loved ones. If you make even a veiled comment, it will start the celebration on a bitter note. Instead of opening the minds of your relatives, you'll likely alienate them instead. You don't want someone going away with the impression that environmentalists are eager to bring her down or reign in on her rights. That will likely ultimately do more harm than good. A better solution is to later make clear why you chose to celebrate in the eco-conscious way that you did.
When it comes to unwrapping the presents, you can mention that you like to gather it for recycling purposes. This will avoid both mess and waste frustrations. You can turn it into a joke, such as saying how you are behaving like a frugal lady, but explain why you are doing so. Sometimes people have no idea that what they are doing is wasteful in any way. The holidays are not the best time to preach, but they are a good time to express what matters to you within the proper context of the conversation. Simply keep it light-hearted and focused on what being green adds to your life.
If the food at a feast is obviously in excess--and if the hosts mentions that it's going to waste--offer to use it in a compost. This will be a great way to explain what composting can do and how it can help.
When playing Christmas music, you might want to add in the great song "Don't Cut Me Down" by Olivia Newton-John. It was written by the singer as she overcame cancer, and it's had many reasons to many people. It's an environmental tune written from the perspective of a tree, and some environmentalists choose it to play at the holidays. The tree-theme is a way to tie it in, but beware that using a real tree may be more ecologically friendly so be sure not to preach in that area.
